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Winter 2004
Hagi Fever & Modern Art on Naoshima
It was an unusually warm day in October and we found ourselves basking in the sunshine waiting for the JR Bus bound for Hagi at Ogori Station. Hagi’s isolation meant no more fast trains and easy connections.
Hagi is rich with history and many of its artistic traditions are intricately woven into the annals of the Mori family. The Mori’s opposed the Tokugawa Shogunate and were defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Despite their loss and constant isolation by the Shogunate, they were able to maintain regional control for over 13 generations. However, the defeat of 1600 was never forgotten and the Mori family became the leaders in the movement to restore power to the Emperor of Japan. With the help of the surrounding Nagato Province, the Mori’s and the Hagi army were able to capture Kyoto and turn the tide against the Shogunate. This put Hagi into the history books as the source of ideas for the new, modern Japan. In fact, Japan’s first Prime Minister, Hirobumi Ito (1841-1909), was from Hagi. Click here to continue...
Hagi Shoreline
Gregory Howell 
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